“I was briefed on this. The Apollo Stone is the thing that allows their ships to jump from place to place, correct?” asked General Quince.
“Correct,” said Ravenwood. “Both species avail themselves of point-to-point interstellar travel using wormhole gates, but the Stone allows a ship to travel anywhere in the galaxy, perhaps the universe, at will.
“Is this the only Apollo Stone?” asked General Quince.
Ravenwood looked at the female Rahani and asked her. As she spoke, Ravenwood translated. “It is the only remaining one.”
“Well, I can understand why neither side wants the other to have it,” said the general. He looked at Longmire. “Can we have a look at this thing?”
“We believe we have it, but it’s locked inside a Sahiradin case and we haven’t been able to open it,” said Longmire.
General Quince looked at Ravenwood. “You didn’t tell them we have this thing, did you?”
“Not yet.”
“Good. Let’s keep it that way. Until we know what the hell is going on, let’s keep it under wraps.”
Sawyer shook her head. “If they don’t know we have it already, they’ll learn soon enough. The Sahiradin know we have it, so we’d be keeping a secret which is known to the enemy from our ally.”
General Quince could no longer contain himself. “Ally? Who the hell is talking about allies? For all we know, these Lycians are just as nasty as the Sahiradin, or worse.”
“They’ve offered their help against the Sahiradin,” said Ravenwood. “They are offering to fight them here on the ground as well as engage their fleet.”
Quince chuckled. “They’re going to fight them here on the ground and in space? Well ain’t that nice.” He looked at Ravenwood and then Sawyer. “Don’t you get it? They’d be doing that anyway! What they really want is for is us to help them in their war, not the other way around.”
“Either way, the Sahiradin have demonstrated their hostility toward Earth,” said Sawyer. “And you know the old saying, ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend.’ ”
“Consul Sawyer, do you really think species as advanced as these guys have any interest in treating us as equals?” asked General Quince as he pointed his thumb toward the Lycian delegation. “Believe me, if we agree to work together, humans will be very junior partners in the arrangement. And if we win, how generous do you think they’ll be toward us? How do we know they won’t finish the job the Sahiradin started?”
“All good points,” said Sawyer. “But let’s look at the situation we’re in. We’ve got a known enemy, the PRA, working with a new and very advanced enemy, the Sahiradin. The PRA shield dome across the river is evidence of that partnership. Up in space we’ve got hostile Sahiradin ships that are itching to wipe us out if they can get past the Lycian fleet. We don’t know what the Lycian will do in the long run, I admit that, but we know what the Sahiradin will do to us right now if they get the chance. I say we cooperate with the Lycians as much as needed to win this fight.”
General Quince opened his mouth to speak, but Consul Sawyer held up her hand to silence him. “General, your mission is to defeat the enemy, and you have a free hand in doing so. But it’s the League Council’s responsibility to determine overall objectives. As the only representative of the Council here, I’m ordering you to cooperate with the Lycians.”
“Are you sure the rest of the Council would agree?” asked Quince. “I’m no lawyer, but I think the League Compact requires a unanimous vote on something this significant.”
“Perhaps, but because our communications are being jammed, we can’t put it to a vote.”
Quince stared at her for a moment. Then he said, “You realize you’re not just assuming responsibility for the entire League, but the whole damn planet. I don’t see any African, Asian, South American, or European representatives around here.”
“Believe me, general, I understand the significance of what I’m asking you to do, but it’s the least distasteful choice on a list of bad options.”
General Quince took a deep breath and turned toward Logan. “And what do you think, private? Mr. Ravenwood and Consul Sawyer must have had some reason for insisting that you take part in this discussion.”
Logan stood at attention and said, “Sir, I’ve fought against the Sahiradin. They love war, sir. They love fighting, especially up close. Hand to hand. And they’re built for war, too. Their skin is made up of tiny scales that work like armor. These other aliens seem to be less aggressive. Except for the Grensch, they’re much smaller and frailer than the Sahiradin. Also, I see they offloaded a lot of automated warriors. My guess is they use robots to do much of their fighting since the Sahiradin are so much bigger and deadlier than they are. If I had to pick a side that’s the least aggressive, it would be the Lycians, sir.”
“Aggression can take many forms both on and off the battlefield,” said General Quince. “Where are you from?”
Logan hesitated.
“He’s a PRA defector, sir,” said General Longmire.
Quince looked at Longmire, then at Logan. “We’ve got a lot of good soldiers from east of the river in our army. They know how things will go if we lose this war.”
He looked at Sawyer and said, “Well, Consul. You’re the most senior civilian leader here, so we’ll follow your instructions, but I’d hate to be you if you’re wrong about these Lycians.”
“Thank you,” replied Sawyer. “We’ll know soon enough if I’m wrong.”
Quince looked at Ravenwood, then Longmire.
“Okay,” he said. “Let’s get to the command tent and hash this out.”
Chapter 82
It was evening when Ravenwood left the command tent where the League and the Lycians had agreed on a basic plan to repel the Sahiradin and PRA armies. Logan, Cap, and Lena had just finished their duties helping to reinforce the camp’s defenses when they saw him walking toward the mess tent.
“Took you long enough,” said Cap when they caught up with him. “What’s the plan?”
“Well,” said Ravenwood. “Nothing too elaborate. The Lycians are going to take the left side of the line and deal with the Sahiradin. A few of them will be stationed on the right side with us in case the Sahiradin try to storm the hill. The League is responsible for preventing the PRA from crossing the river and for keeping the Sahiradin on the hill from outflanking us.”
“Sounds pretty vague,” said Lena. “I hope we don’t end up shooting each other.”
“Where’s Kane?” asked Logan. “Is he still in the tent?”
“No,” said Ravenwood. “He escorted the Northrunner delegation back to their territory.”
“Are they going to provide more help?” asked Logan.
“They have refused to commit troops to this fight,” answered Ravenwood with a sigh. “Kane will try to convince them to change their minds, but their military is better suited for defense than offense. Furthermore, they suffered heavy casualties in the battle against the Sahiradin, heavier even than the League. They are understandably reluctant to send their soldiers off to an almost certain death.”
As they walked, Logan looked at Ravenwood and said, “When you talked to the Rahani, I could tell you were keeping a lot to yourself. What else did they say?”
Ravenwood smiled and said, “You’re very observant. Yes, the conversation touched on a number of things which I did not think would be prudent to translate. They asked about our origins. And they wanted to know more about our ancient history, but I asked them to wait for answers until we’d taken care of the business at hand.”
“What about the stone?” asked Lena. “Did they ask about that?”
“They did,” answered Ravenwood. “I deflected on that point as well.”
“But Consul Sawyer said we should tell them before they find out from some other source, like the Sahiradin,” said Logan.
“I understand her position,” replied Ravenwood, “but I don’t think it would be wise for them to have access to the Kaiytáva jus
t yet. They may be tempted to take it and leave us to face the Sahiradin alone.”
Just then, shells exploded to the west of their position, sending dirt high into the air. Other shells followed. They hurled their bodies to the ground and covered their heads. More earth sailed through the air and landed on them.
Cap spat dirt out of his mouth and yelled, “It’s starting already. We’re not prepared. We don’t even have all of the Second Corp troops in place. They’re still rolling in.”
“I think hitting us before we’re ready is part of their plan,” yelled Lena above the sound of explosions.
“We have to get back to our unit,” yelled Logan.
Ravenwood nodded. “I’m going to the Apollo Stone. When the Sahiradin attack, they will be focused on recovering it.”
Logan, Cap, and Lena got up and stumbled toward Dog Patrol’s camp as Ravenwood dashed back toward the command tent. The shells continued to rain down around them, destroying artillery and equipment, killing soldiers. Suddenly, a green shimmering light encircled their camp. The shells continued to explode, but now they dispersed on the green shield over their heads.
Cap looked up and laughed. “Ha! Looks like our new friends have given us a shield!”
When they reached Dog Patrol’s camp, Logan saw L.C. Heath and the rest of the fire team kneeling behind some boulders. They were in their Provex armor and had their K-45s at their shoulders. Their swords were sheathed in scabbards in their battle packs.
“Brandt,” said Heath. “I’m so glad you and your friends could join us.” Logan knelt on one knee and tightened the straps of the armor he’d quickly grabbed a minute earlier. He checked his sword, sheathed it, then pulled out his K-45.
“How’s it looking up top?” asked Heath. “Were we able to fully deploy?”
Logan shook his head. “They’re catching us with our pants down. But in case you didn’t notice, our new friends, the Lycians, have given us a shield which is keeping out the artillery shells. Maybe we’ll have time to finish deploying before the real fighting starts.”
As he spoke, the green shield above them began to turn red. Logan spotted a red beam coming out from the otherwise dark Sahiradin camp. He pointed at it for the others to see.
“I’m guessing our new shield won’t last too long,” said Cap.
“That means they’re launching a nighttime assault,” said Lena. “They want the Apollo Stone so badly they’re willing to launch an attack before the PRA forces are ready.” She checked the Sahiradin blade she’d taken from the battlefield.
“They’re desperate,” said Logan. “They know the Lycians are here. They must be afraid they’ll get the stone.”
Lieutenant Styles ran up to their position, shouting to everyone along the hip-deep trench. “Be ready for a ground assault. You saw the oval ships landing. We’ve got new friends. Longmire’s orders are to engage the Sahiradin only. Whatever else you see, and believe me you’re going to see some crazy stuff, engage against the Sahiradin only. Don’t forget.”
She walked farther down the line, relaying the same instructions. As she disappeared behind a group of pine trees Logan noticed the shield above them had turned completely red and then it disappeared.
“Here we go,” said Heath to his fire team. “Keep it tight and make them come to us.”
Chapter 83
Lycian Admiral Var-Imar watched as the Sahiradin fleet swiftly broke to the left, firing ion cannons into the center of the Lycian formation. It was their second ion volley, and at least for now, the improved ion defense shields were repelling the fearsome Sahiradin weapon. Yet they would not last long, and when they collapsed a horrific exchange of fire would follow.
It would be at that moment, when the Sahiradin had broken down the Lycian shields and were closing for the kill, that the Lycians would spring the trap. The Lycian fleet would split in two and use its superior speed and agility to swing around to each end of the Sahiradin formation. Several smaller ships would also move above and below the Sahiradin formation, which was typically rather two dimensional in design. At that moment, fighters and torpedo bombers would race in to attack the Sahiradin capital ships. To protect themselves when executing the maneuver, the Lycians would deploy ion and antiballistic defense pods, thus momentarily screening themselves from Sahiradin attack. The hope was that, as the Sahiradin charged in, they would not have sufficient room to adjust to the unorthodox plan.
The timing had to be perfect, though, or they would be obliterated. Lycian doctrine strongly disfavored splitting the fleet in the manner the admiral’s plan called for because ships could be isolated and destroyed piecemeal. Yet, given the high stakes involved in this battle, which could quite possibly determine the outcome of the long conflict, Admiral Var-Imar thought the risk was justified.
The Lycian ships returned fire, scoring several hits, but could not match the firepower which the newly arrived devastator class battleship Conquest brought to the fight. In the long history of their struggle against the Sahiradin, the Lycians had typically needed at least a two-to-one numerical advantage to defeat any Sahiradin fleet containing a battleship. If the circumstances were different, Admiral Var-Imar would have ordered a retreat, but with the Kaiytáva likely somewhere on the planet’s surface, possibly already in the hands of the Sahiradin landing force, she was forced to fight.
A tactical officer warned Var-Imar that Sahiradin torpedo ships and their Codex fighter escorts were making a run. They sought to elude the screen of Lycian fighter craft protecting the fleet, but they met a fiery end. Aside from the Grensch, the Sahiradin soldiers were more aggressive and bigger than the Lycians, but the Lycian pilots and fighter craft were superior. And their skills were on display now. Var-Imar watched as a battle wing of Codex fighters sought to approach the fleet from underneath, only to be shredded by Lycian oval-shaped Aculea fighters. But fighter superiority would not be sufficient to win this battle, and Var-Imar knew it was just a matter of time before the Sahiradin capital ships would penetrate the Lycian defenses.
“Admiral,” said a male Rahani officer. “As we feared, the Sahiradin have launched a pre-dawn assault on the Alamani camp. Our ground forces are trying to assist, but coordination between us and the Alamani is poor.”
“And what about the Alamani army across the river?” asked Var-Imar.
“They do not appear to be part of this attack,” said the officer. “They seem to be preparing to cross the river at first light.”
“Get me General Gil-Masuur,” said the admiral.
Moments later, the face of a female Rahani appeared on the small screen embedded in the arm of the admiral’s chair.
“We see the Sahiradin are moving toward the Alamani camp,” said Admiral Var-Imar. “Help your Alamani allies repel them. If you wait, the Sahiradin will cut you to pieces.”
The Rahani general could not hide her concern with this order. “We are not ready. Can we receive fighter support?”
“No,” said the admiral. “Those units are committed to defending the fleet. You’re on your own.”
“Yes admiral,” said Gil-Masuur.
Var-Imar ended the transmission and looked at the battle unfolding on the main view screen. Data showing the status of each ship, Lycian and Sahiradin alike, scrolled in small separated sections along the left and right edges of the screen. In the center was an image of the massive Sahiradin battleship, Conquest. Suddenly a fiery ball erupted from one of Conquest’s two ion cannon nodes and flew in the direction of a Lycian frigate. The frigate’s ion screen dispersed the energy in a brilliant flash of red light, but the admiral could see the screen had been destroyed in the process.
“Communications,” she said. “Instruct Resilient’s captain to deploy her ion screen pods and pull back. Tactical, redirect scrambler droids to mask Resilient’s silhouette as she retreats.
Resilient was already deploying defensive pods to her starboard side, but the ship retreated along a course that took it outside of the pods’ line of prote
ction. Another volley from Conquest’s second ion cannon hit the fleeing ship, causing widespread systems failures, including the frigate’s antiballistic shield. Two nearby Sahiradin destroyers immediately fired a dozen missiles into the defenseless frigate, ripping her apart.
Var-Imar cursed under her breath but quickly shifted her attention to other ships, resisting a strong urge to give the order to execute their plan. They had to hold out a little longer and draw the Sahiradin ships in close.
Chapter 84
The bombardment of the League camp stopped ten minutes before the first wave of Sahiradin charged up the hill. A few League troopers fired on the advancing enemy, but the order came through their helmets’ ICS to engage shields and save ammo. At first Logan could not see the enemy, but then he caught a glimpse of white-haired figures dashing between the trees toward the League’s position. In a few moments, the Sahiradin were just fifty meters away from the League’s trench on the crest of the hill. Logan grimaced when he saw that the enemy was concentrating its attack on the area of the line where Dog Patrol was positioned. He looked to his left and right and saw all the troopers had drawn their swords and prepared to launch themselves down the hill at the approaching Sahiradin.
Logan was tense and nervous as he watched the Sahiradin ascending the hill. The waiting was unbearable, and he wished the order to attack would come. Suddenly a line of mechanized warriors burst through the trees and smashed into Sahiradin right flank. Nodes on the machines’ shoulders fired energy pulses and blades attached to their arms where their hands should have been twirled with blinding speed.
The Sahiradin were surprised by the attack, but they quickly recovered and turned to face their mechanical opponents. Logan watched as they snapped their left wrists, causing semi-transparent guards to emerge from armbands, something they had not bothered to employ when fighting against the League troopers a few days prior.
The Navigator (The Apollo Stone Trilogy Book 1) Page 43